The Blessings of a Living Master: a new satsang spiritual retreat is underway in India at Radhaswami Ashram, Channasandra with Baba Ram Singh, faithfully continuing the path of Sant Mat in the world today. For many satsangs with English translation provided, see more videos at this channel: https://youtu.be/PY0u0ropSsg?t=953
Path of the Masters: Sant Mat - Santmat, Radhasoami - Radha Soami, Satsang, Inner Light and Sound Meditation: Surat Shabd Yoga, Audible Life Stream, Quan Yin Method, Spiritual Science, Spirituality, Kabir, Maharshi Mehi, Kirpal Singh, Gnosticism, Third Eye, Out Of Body Experiences, Near-Death Experiences, Inner Space, the Kingdom of the Heavens Within, Mystic Poetry, Vegetarian Vegan, Ahimsa, Love, and God. The term "Sant Mat" was coined by Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras during the 19th Century.
Thursday, January 02, 2025
Tuesday, December 31, 2024
The Three Kinds of People There Are in the World According to the Valentinian Gnostics, by James Bean
The Three Kinds of People There Are in the World According to the Valentinian Gnostics, by James Bean
The three kinds of people in the world: "The Valentinian threefold designation of people as hylics, psychics, and pneumatics (people of fleshly body, soul, and spirit)." (Marvin Meyer, The Nag Hammadi Scriptures)
Have always thought of this tripart view of humanity as being rather accurate. We have 1) the hylics ("matter", materialists), 2) the psychics (of soul), and, 3) the pneumatics ("spiritual", from Greek πνεῦμα, "spirit").
Psychics (of the soul) are sort of the in between, between the spiritual and material realms with some belief in supernatural possibilities, and this category also includes people following one religion or another. Mystics in the world are few but followers of religions are many. Pneumatics are in the mystics category, those who are knowers (Gnostics), experiencers, in addition to whatever their intellectual beliefs might be about God, heavens, universes, souls and whatnot.
My only concern with what might be said in old Gnostic texts is over the question of WHO has a soul. If some of those folks were espousing the view that not everyone has a soul or the same kind of soul, I would strongly disagree, believing that everyone has a soul, IS a soul incarnate. If they are saying that many people are stuck at the level of the five senses and the outer material world, believe only what they happen to see (the hylics) or are attached to various theological ideas but don't experience the things they believe (God, heavens) and so it's all just abstract theory to them (psychics), then I do agree with that. Gnostics weren't anti intellectual and had lots of ideas, but their goal was to experience, to know. One begins with faith but then moves on to gnosis, to be spiritual, pneumatic, through an initiation into The Mysteries gain access to one's spiritual senses which can have perception of the beyond, spiritual seeing, spiritual hearing. One becomes an explorer of heavenly realms. Gnostic texts are filled with descriptions of visionary and auditory experiences, and the ascension of the soul through the various heavenly realms.
I believe animals also have souls, which is one of the reasons why I'm vegan. Being heavily influenced by Neo Platonism and Pythagoreanism the gnostics were veg or vegan also. See the last verses of the Nag Hammadi book, The Prayer of Thanksgiving: https://medium.com/sant-mat-meditation-and-spirituality/two-vegetarian-prayers-of-thanksgiving-one-is-gnostic-the-other-from-jainism-f34f8e11a7cf